FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a sensor-controlled cooktop with a cooktop plate, in particular made of glass ceramic or glass, with at least one cooking zone that is heatable by means of a heating element arranged below the cooktop plate, and with a heat radiation sensor unit arranged below the cooktop plate and directed toward the underside of the latter in the region of a measuring spot of limited area and which is connected to a control unit for regulating the heat output of the heating element.
A cooktop of this type is known from published British patent application GB 2 072 334 A. There, a parabolic reflector arrangement is provided below the cooktop plate. The reflector arrangement collects the heat radiation radiated from the underside of the bottom of a pan put down on the cooktop plate and heated by means of the heating element and conducts this heat radiation via a connected optical connecting line to an infrared-sensitive photodiode. The heat radiation detected in this way is used as a signal for regulating the heat output of the heating element.